We all know how invaluable Google Maps are in our daily lives, but what about in the classroom? Google Maps has far more potential then just providing directions. Using Google Maps, students can actually map out space-based information. Rather than memorizing facts about locational events and geographic dispersions, map them out! These maps can be collaborated on and shared via social media – maps are a quintessential part of Web 2.0.

Copyright laws are something you, as a teacher, are probably familiar with. But, what about your students? Students who are consumed by digital media and Internet sharing need to be aware of the laws surrounding the material they copy. You can help your students understand copyright by talking about it anytime they might need to copy information, and by setting a good example yourself. In this post I will help to bring you up to speed on recent changes to copyright laws so that you and your students can become one with copyright.

Development of copyright laws has historically depended on information of the analog world, where print was usually the only means for sharing knowledge. Copying print materials can be difficult, time consuming and expensive. Usually it results in decreased quality from the original work. During these times it was difficult to copy others work. Someone would probably notice you trying to photocopy an entire book. So it made sense to buy the original copy.